How I Mentally Dealt With Bloat

Through my health journey I have come to understand better than anyone that the way you look DOES & WILL impact how you feel—specifically when those looks don’t line up with your actions. It’s throws you off your jive 💃🏽 & psychologically messes with you! That doesn't mean you are vain--it just means you are a human who cares.

For me, it feels like this self-induced drama where my life can feel like its ruled by something, like bloating, that seemingly has no freaking cause!

I have come from a long standing history of bloating—the kind of bloating that literally scares your mom into thinking either you are 1) pregnant 🤰 or 2) something is stuck in there!! I wish I had photos to prove it, but when all this was happening, I was in the deepest depths of my Gastroparesis battle and the last thing I wanted was to document it.

Anywho, Gastroparesis is basically synonymous with bloating because it’s a functional condition, nonetheless it F*CKED ME UP. Crop top? Hell nah. Hang out after lunch? Nope, I feel like a whale. And the cycle continues day after day--mine continued for 2-3 years...

So I feel your pain, DEEPLY when I hear of your bloating frustrations! That being said, I have found that being mentally prepared to deal with it, is actually more important than fixing it right away-- because the thing is, no matter how great your diet is or how amazing your gut health is,you will have to deal with it here and there. So here's what helped and still helps me deal when my body decides to be a lil smart a*s and remind me I have food sensitivities ✨💁🏽‍♀️

1) I said it before and I’ll say it again: bloating to a certain degree is normal. I still get bloated some days where I feel like I can't even wear jeans 👖 but I've learned to NOT FIGHT IT. I’ve gotten to a place where I know that trying to fight my body will only leave me feeling defeated. *So go with the flow. Deep breath--you shall survive & it shall pass*

2) Diverge your attention to something else. When you are bloated it can be all you think about. “Ughhh I’m so bloated”-- “ughhhh I feel gross”--“ughhhhhh!”. Yes girl, I know it sucks but playing the facts over & over again in your head won’t make it go away. As hard as it is, just continue on with your day—believe it or not, if you actively put your focus onto something else important, you will forget.

3) Internalize this: other people won’t notice. I think this is important to realize because no matter what we would like to believe, we care about how we look in the eyes of others, so thinking you look bloated in other people’s eyes can inhibit you socially! DONT LET IT. Even on my worst days, when I thought I looked pregnant, which I did (mom doesn’t lie), other people frankly don’t care enough to take note. It’s simply not on their radar so why waste your mental energy worrying about it. It sounds silly if you flip the tables and think, “hmmmmm so and so looked really bloated today—OMG ewww”---LIKE NOBODY does this. So don’t give 2 craps about what you think other people think. Seriously, spare yourself.

4) And lastly, but most importantly for me:

I ask myself: “Am I going to let bloat rule my day. MY DAY that I want to live to the fullest? I am reeeeallly going to let a digestive disturbance disrupt my flow” and the answer ever single time is "HELL NAH B I GOT SH*T TO DO & I’m a big girl—I don’t let things stop me. "

So as simple as these 4 things sound, I find that actively doing them changes my whole mindset when I’m starting to get in my head about it. I frankly don’t want to look back on any point in my life and think: damn that sucked because I was always bloated. No. Sure, I might have been, but that’s NOT worthy of being the focus of my life. I don’t want to GIVE it that power.

And I know what you are thinking—"easy for you to say, you are never really bloated anymore." Well babe, I served my sentence for 3 years of painful, socially inhibiting bloating and overcame it not only by trial & error diet & lifestyle changes, but with my mindset.

I’m a firm believe that what you give attention to, you get more of. So I had to extinguish that fire 🔥 and fuel the ones that really matter 🤓👑✨

If this helps just one person I will be beyond satisfied so please please please share your stories & give me all the more ideas on what to write on! #Fuelyourfemalefire